Internal-combustion rotary engine.



B. CONKUN. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION man MAR. 10. 1911.

LQMJWI. Patented Feb.18,1919.

48 37 46H; 55% 38 36 .35HEETS-SHEETL. i .1. F 9 34 APPLICATION ElLED BMW; X0. 1917.

' Patented Feb. 18, 1912 a sufifs--sum mm cam/m 4 B. CONKLIN. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ROTARY ENGIN E.

PPUC TION 1 94,71 A MD M m m7 Patented Feb. 1.8, 1919. i o 3 SHEEIS-SHEEI 3. s @9 I tanner narrow BRUCE GONKLIN', -OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

INTERNAL-GUMBUSTION ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented net. is, rare;

Application flied March 10, 1917. tierial Hold-5,90

To (all 'wiwm may concern:

7 Be it known that 1, Bacon CoNKmN, a

citizen of the United States of America;

residing London, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented a new and useful improvement in internal Combustion Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention has reference to internal combustion rotary engines of the kind in which an inner stationary element or drum and an outer rotating element or casing are respectively provided with a plurality of rotary ahutments and a plurality of vanes and in which the drum and casing are mounted concentrically in -relation to each other so as to afi'ord an intervening annular space .which constitutes the working chamher of the engine rotary or other valve mechanism being ordinarily employed for transferring the charge of compressed Working fluid to the explosion chamber.

The primary objects of the invention are to insure the introduction of the working charge into the explosion hamber at full working pressure to efi'ect the induction and compression of the working fluid and the exhaust of the products of con'lhustion without the employment of positively actuated valve mechanism to insure the efficient cooling of the engine and generally to improve the operation and efiiciency of the engine as a whole.

With these and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, or are incidental to the ends in View, the invention in its broadest aspect may be said to comprise an internal combustion rotary engine in which the compression and tiring alternate at diametrically opposite points of the inner element or drum. The rotary abutments and vanes are so disposed, relatively to each other, as 'to cause the working fluid to be compressed alternately from two diametrically opposite points'of the drum, into a storage chamber within the drum. from which is alternately introduced to the explosion space at a point opposite to that at which the working fluid is being simultaneously."introduced to the aforesaid storage chan'iberj The vanes are unequal in number with respect to the rotary abutments', the working fluid is caused to pass before compression around the periphery oftlie inner .ele ment and then alternately compressed at tliametrieally opposite points of the drum passing around the and stored within the said drum from which it is alternately introduced as aforesaid to the explosion chamber, the products of combustion being exhausted through ports which are at all times open to atmosphere the construction also being such as to permit of the parts being efliciently cooled by a free cir- .culation of air induced by the-rotation of the engine.

The inner normally stationary drum is provided avith a duct for the working fluid periphery of said drum, ports in said periphery communicating with said duct and with the annular working chamber, storage chambers in said drum for the compressed working fluid, said storage chan'lbers having ports opening onthe periphery of the drum, ports and ducts in the outer casing for t *ansferring the compressed working fluid from the annular Working chamber of the engine to said storage chamhere and from said storage chambers to the annular working chamber, and exhaust ports and passages in the drum .which are at all times open to atmosphere.

The invention also comprises the details of construction and arrangement of parts all as more particularly hereinafter described and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents avertical section of an ,bers and thepassages and ports communieating therewith.

Fig. 5. is a development of a portion of the periphery of the drum looking towa/rd the right hand side of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6. is a section drawn to through one of the vanes and Fig. 7. is a transverse section through one of "the vanes and the portion of the outer casing adjacenttheretm illustrating the means employed for coolingftlie vanes. In that embodiment of the invention illus- 10o alarger scale lio tratcd, the. inner normally stationary, element or drum is what may be termed of skeleton or wheel-like formation, comprising a central boss 1 (see Fig. 2) connected by spoke-like members 2 3, 4 and 5 with the rim or periphery 6. The drum is provided with pockets 7 to accommodate the rotary abutincnts, 8, 9, 10. and 11, of which, in the construction shown there are four arranged.

combustible mixture. said ducts communi eating by means of the passages 14 and 15 in the spokes 3 and 5 with a duct 16 which, as will be seen on reference to Fig. 2 passes completely around the periphery '6 of the drum and communicates by means of the in-.

duction ports 17and 18 with the annular working chamber 19 of the engine. The boss lis also provided longitudinally with a. centralduct or passage 20, communicating by ducts 21 and 22 in the spokes 2 and t with the exhaust ports 23 and 24 formed in the periphery 6 of the drum.

Positively secured to each side of the drum above described, so as to form part thereof, is a plate 25 (see Figs. 1 and 4). in which is formed an annular chamber 26 coimnunicating by means of'the ducts 27 28 with ports 29 30 and 29 30' (see Fig.

5) in the periphery of said, plates 25.

The stationary inner element or drum thus constituted is supported in bearings 31 and and rotatably mounted thereon by means of the antifriction bearings 33 is the outer casing. comprising two heads or end shields'ila, 35 of wheel-like forn'iation, an

internally; toothed ring 36 two ring shaped members 37, 38 and an annular wall 39 assembled and bolted together b bolts 40.

The annular wall 39 carries five vanes -11. 41. 41 ,41. 41. (see Fig. 2) making gas tight contact with the smooth periphery of the inner drum, 1'0 which end I provide said varies with a packing strip 42 (see Figs. (5 and 7) pressed inwardly by springs 913 nesting Within the portion 44: of the vane attached to the annular wall 39 by means of the bolts 45.

The annular wall 39 is provided with a number of elongated ports i l, 46 16 46. 46". (Figs. 1 and 2) opening into the annular working chamber 19 at 47 and communicating with ducts 48, 48 48 48. and 48 in the members 37 and 38. which ducts. during the rotation of the outer casing. regisi'cl' with the ports. 29, 30 and 2t), 30 in the inner s-itationary drum.

The annular wall 39 is also provided with a second series of elongated ports il 1!).

-19", 1S). 4!). opening into the working ed to make contact with the periphery of.

the drum, and similar packing rings .35 may also be located between the-lateral portions in contact of the drum and the 1 rotating casing.

k As herembefore stated the problem of insuring that all the parts of an internal combustion rotary engine should b etliciently cooled has presented much ditliculty in practice and I therefore attach considerable importance to those features of the present invention which I will now proceed to describ and whichare designed to obviate the troubles arising from overheatiiw.

As is well known the gaseous mixture usually employed in internal combustion engine-s. and composed of vaporized gasolcne and atmospheric air. when it issues from the carburet-er is at a low temperature and 1 utilize this physical condition of the combustible mixture as one means of assisting to maintain the parts of my improved rotary engine? at the desired low temperature. To this end I have provided the aforesaid duct 16 around the periphery of the inner. drum. so that the combu tible mixture passing therethrough before compression on its way to the working chamber 1.) where it is compressed. operates to cool the drum."

and also the vanes as they suck in each working charge.

It will further be observed that, owing to the wheel like construction of the engine as a whole. apertures 52 (Fig. 2) are formed which extend from side to side thereof. and I provide the heads or end shields 34. 35 with radial ribs 53 which, during rotation of the. outer casing. causes air to be forced through the apertures 52 thereby further as sisting'in. keeping the drum cool.

The means I employ for cooling the vanes 11, 41 is also a feature of considerable importance. and I will now describe the same for the ready understanding of which reference should be had to Figs. (5 and 7. Each vane is provided with a transverse bore or duct 54 communicating with ducts 5min the walls of the outer casing and opening to atmosphere. a small lip 56 being provided on the outer casing behind the openings to catch and conduct the air through the ducts 55 and the ducts 54 in the vanes as the outer casing rotates.

mourn Lubrication of the engine is effected by providing oil ducts 56 whereby a suitable lubricant may be distributed to the gears and to the bearings, and to the face of the rotary abutnients and thence to the working chamber. Y ll will now describe the operation of an engine embodying my invention, it being first premised that the inner element or drum is stationary, and the outer element or casing rotating in a clockwise direction and it must be assumed that the engine has been turned over a few revolutions to till the compression chambers 26 and the ducts 2T, with working fluid under pressure as will presently be apparent.

' Referring to Fig. 2 the vane 41 is in the dil annular compression chambers firing and-exhaust position, vane 41 is about to commence its induction and compresslon I phase, vane ll? has completed its induction and compression phase, vane 451 has nearly finished its power impulse and exhaust phase, and vane 11", is in the induction and compression phase.

In these conditionsythe combustible-min ture entering through the ducts 13 passes by way of the assages lei and 15 to the duct 16, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 and it will'be seen that the vane 41 has sucked a charge or combustible mixture through the induction port 17 in the drum into the annular Working chamber 19, while the vane ll is drawing a charge of working fluid through the induction port 18 into the working chamber 19 and compressing a charge of working fluid previously drawn in byv the vane all against the rotary abutment 8. Now the vane 41 moves forward, the working charge in front thereof will be compressed against the rotary abutment l until the duct 51 of the elongated port 49 registers with the ports 29 and 30 in the drum, whereupon the mixture under compression will pass through the opening 50, elongated. port l9 ducts 51 ports 29 and 30, ducts 28 to the 26 (see Fig. {l}. blow-us the vane all passes into the pocket 3.2 of the rotary abutment l0, and travels to the opposite side of said abutment, the ducts 48 will register with the ports 29, 30, and the mixture under compression. will pass "from the compression chambers '26, through ducts 28, ports 29, 30 ducts 48 elongated port 46 opening 4'? to the working chamber 19 behind the Value 41 and between it and rotary abutment 10. When thewane reachesthe position indicated in dotted lines at the bottom of Fig. 2 the ports 29 and 30 will have been closed by the outer casing as it moves over them, and at this instant the explosive mixture is fired. such as by means of the usual sparking plug, and the expan-. sion due to combustion drives the vane forward. During this movement the products of combustion from the previous charge are being expelled through the exhaust port 3 duct 22, and centrally disposed passage to the atmosphere, or the usual exl llll'titpipe.

While this cycle of operation is being effected, the vane li will have compressed. the charge of Working liuid in front of it against the rotary abutment band transferred it in exactly similar manner to that described with reference to the Vane 41 to the com 'n'ession chambers 26, and when said vane ll reaches the position 41, a charge of working; fluid will he admitted from the chambers 26, through ducts 27, and ports 1 and to the firing space and tired as above explained.

It should be observed that the disposition of the various ducts and ports is such that, as any one of the ducts 51, 51 register with the ports 29, 30 to admit the compressed working fluid to the chambers 26, one er the ducts ashe will he in register with the ports 29 30 on the opposite side of the drum to admit a charge of working fluid to the ex. plosion space behind a vane and since the same quantity of compressed working fluid is being simultaneously introduced to and abstracted from the chambers so there will till be merely a displacement of working fluid in said chambers, for on consideration it will be seen that as one of the vanes say 41 approaches the end of its compression stroke, the space in which the compressed fluid is contained will be constantly reduced in area during the period for which the ducts 51 are in register with the ports 29, 30 in the drum, and the compressed fluid will be forced into the storage chambers 26.

its this occuis the ducts 48 will be in register with the ports 29 30 at. the opposite side of the drum, and as the vane 41 moves away from the rotary abutment 8 the area of the firing space will be constantly increased while the ducts and ports are in regrister, so that the same quantity of fluid will be displaced by the incoming charge as is introduced into the firing space, so that when once the contents of said chambers are at full A working revolutions of the outer casing. there will be a constant quantity of compressed working fluid at practically constant pressure in said chambers.

The proper timing of the rotary abutmeuts with respect to the vanes-is obtained by means of the internally toothed ring 36, which forms part of the rotating casing engaginp with a gear 57 keyed to the shaft of each of the rotary abutments.

The rotary abutments 8 and i0 constitute what may. be't/ermed the compression, and firing abutme'nts since it is at these points that the combustible to the con'ipression chambers 26 and also abstracted therefrom and. fired, each time each of the five vanes pass them while the abutpressure, as will happen after a few mixture is admitted mcnts 9 and 11 may be termed the induction.

and exhaust abutmcn-ts since these two phases occur each time each of the vanes passes them.

Since there are two firing abutments and five vanes in,,the construction hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings there will be ten power impulses o'r working strokes for each revolution of the outer casing. but. it will of coursebe apparent that,

by increasing the number of rotaryv abutments and vanes while maintaining the same ratio of vanes with .respect to abutments any .words alternately at diametrically opposite points of the inner drum. the turning moment is very much evened up. and moreoveas the ports and ducts, and the vanes and abutments are so disposcd that; just before the expansion'dne to one explosive charge is finished another explosive charge is fired, a very .evenly balancali continuous turning movement is obtained.

It will be seen that by my invention Thave provided a simple and compact internal combustion rotary engine composed of but few parts and which is devoid of any positively actuated valve mechanism, while the skeleton or \vheellike formation of the engine as a whole enables me to utilize .to the best advantage the currents of air induced by the rotation of the outer casing to the end of maintaining the working parts at the comparatively low temperature nwessary to insure efiicient and economical rurnin Vhile l have described the prettrrcd construction of parts and the operation thereot' I am aware that numerous changes of con-.

struction and operation may be made 'without, departing from the spirit. and scope of the invention. and I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting the scope of. my claims by the positive terms employed in connection with the description. 'hat I claim and desire. to secure by Letters Patent ot' the United States is:

1. An internal combustion rotary engine comprising;- an inner stationary drum and an outer rotating casing the drum havin a plurality of rotary abut meats and the casinga plurality of fixed vanes the intervening annular space constituting the working chamber of the engine. means; for conducting the working fluid be'torc compression around the. periphery of the drunn means for eflccting the compression of the working fluid alternately at dianwtrically opposite points of the stationary drum and the firmgot t-hecompressed working fluid also at diametrically opposite points of the said'drum.

2. An internal combustion rotary engine comprising an inner stationary drumjprovided w-it'h rotary abutments and an outer rotating casin provided with vanes and the said drum an casing, spaced apartso as to constitute an annular combustion or working chamber, for conducting the working fluid before compression around the periphery of the drum means for compressingthe said fluid alternately at diametrically opposite points of said drum compression chambers in said drum for receiving the said fluid after compression means for conducting the compressed fluid from the compression chambers to-tlie explosion (working) chainbers and firing same alternately at diametrically opposite sides of said chambers.

3. An internal combustion rotary engine in which an inner stationary drum is provided with rotary abut-ments and an outer rotating casing is provided with fixed vanes to the abutments and the said drum and casing being spaced apart so as to constitute an intervening annular working chamber means for causing the working fluid to pass before compression around the periphery of.

i the drum means for alternately compressing the i said fluid at diametrically opposite points of said drum. compression chambers chamber and means for eiiieiently cooling the )arts of the engine by .tree circulation of air lndu'ced byithc rotation of the engine.

4. An internal combustion rotary engine in which an inner stationary drum is provided with rotary abutments and an outer rotating casing is provided with fixed vanes the vanes being of unequal nun'iber relatively to the abutments and the said drum and casing being spaced apart so as to constitute an intervening annular working chamber a peripheral duct in said inner stationary drum ports in the periphery of said drum communicating with the peripheral duct and with the annular working chamber storage chambers in Said drum for receiving the fluid compressed in the annular working chamber. ports in said compression chambers opening on the periphery of said ilrum at diametrically opposite points thereof ports and ducts in the outer casing for transferring the compressed working fluid from the annular working chamber to the compression chambers and ports and the vanes being of unequal number relatively net combustion from the said combustion or working chamber of the engine.

5. An internal combustion rotary engine in whichan inner stationary drum is provided with rotary abutments and anouter rotating casing is provided with fixed vanes the vanes being of unequal number relatively to the abutments and' the said drum and easing being spaced apart so as to constitute" an intervening annular working chamber and means for utilizing the combustible mixture or workin fluid before compressionto assist in cool ng the engine said means comprising ducts 1n the axial line of the boss of the drum radial passages in the spokes of said drum distributing arcuate passages from said radial passages a peripheral duct in said drum ports in the drum communicatin with the aforesaid annular working chamber annular oompression chambers in the stationary drum and ports and ducts .in the outer casing for conducting the compressed working fluid from the working chamber to the sald compression chambers in the drum.

6. An internal combustion rotary engine in which an inner stationary drum is provided with rotary abutmentsand an outer rotating casing is provided with fixed vanes the vanes being of unequal number rela tively to the abutments and the said drum and easing being spaced apart so as to constitute an intervening annular working chamber and means for efficiently cooling the parts of the engine said means comprising spokes in the inner stationary drum and outer rotating casing and radial ribs on the outer casing whereby air is forced through the apertures formed by the spokes and which extend from side to side of the engine.

7. In an internal combustion rotary engine in which an inner stationary drum is provided with rotary abutments and an outer rotating casing is provided with fixed vanes the vanes being of unequal number relatively to the abut-ments and the said drum and easing being spaced apart so as to constitute an intervening annular working chamber and means for cooling said vanes during the working of the engine said means comprising a transverse bore or duct in said vanes and ducts in the walls of the outer rotating casing communicating with the said ducts in the vanes and with the atmosphere and lips on the exterior of the walls of the outer casing behind the ducts therein to arrest and conduct the air through the ducts in the vall and through the transverse bore or duct in the vanes as the said outer casing rotates in the working of the engine.

BRUCE CONKLIN. 

